thyroid

Posted by Does this sound like hyperthyroidism? on July 29, 2000 at 23:56:53:

My dad suddenly became depressed for the first time in his life and was unable to handle his job and things he had previously managed easily. (He was a school administrator) He became very emotional and cryed a lot which he never previously did, ever! He said he had unbearable anxiety and moved out on my mom! For the past 30 years, our family had been the focus of his whole life. He was an extremely loving and protective dad and husband. He hated to be away from any of us. None of us could understand what was happening. He said he had been getting chest pains and almost passed out one day. He feared he was going to have a major heart attack or stroke. He had been on blood pressure medicine but started getting headaches. The doctor began prescribing new medications for blood pressure. Then we discovered that he was cheating on my mom with another woman! This was very out of character for my dad especially since this woman had a reputation of manipulating men to get money. My dad normally could not have been fooled by someone like that! He just didn't seem to be thinking straight. He also complained a lot about his eyes. After five months of this misery, I began to notice he was short of breath, his hand writing was very shaky, and he had lost about 80 pounds. His muscles seemed to be wasting away! Still both my dad and all of us thought it was a mid-life crisis and depression. We encouraged him to seek out counseling. His job and whole life was falling apart! Then he had a heart attack and passed away at age 52. A few days before the heart attack his voice was strange...very, very low. We still don't know what caused all this. Many of his symptoms over those six months seem to resemble hyperthyroidism. Does anyone with more experience in thyroid problems think this could have been what was wrong with my dad? I would sincerely appreciate any opinions. It's unbearable losing a loved one and not even knowing what happened!